Zsa Zsa Gabor’s Iconic Jewelry Collection & Auction Details

Zsa Zsa Gabor’s life could be summed up in one of her most iconic quotes: “Diamonds are a girl’s best friend and dogs are a man’s best friend — now you know which sex has more sense.”

The actress and socialite, who died at 99 years old on Dec. 18, 2016, lived a sparkling life of excess, even until she met her final resting place — in a gold cremation box, couriered in its own first class airline seat to a cemetery in her native Hungary.

In the ’90s, she earned many film credits playing herself on TV, often spoofing her cartoonish extravagance. Though she starred in 1952’s “Moulin Rouge” and other 1950s romantic comedies, Gabor was best known as a pop culture figure whose foray into showbiz circles was through glamorous appearances at parties alongside her sisters Eva and Magda, and mother, Jolie, (think Kardashians of Old Hollywood).

“All these years later, it’s hard to describe the phenomenon of the three glamorous Gabor girls and their ubiquitous mother,” Merv Griffith described the Gabors in his 2003 memoir “Merv: Making the Good Life Last.” “They burst onto the society pages and into the gossip columns so suddenly, and with such force, it was as if they’d been dropped out of the sky.”

Gabor’s biggest hit wasn’t on the big screen. In 1989 she was accused of slapping a police officer who pulled her over in her Rolls-Royce for a traffic violation in Beverly Hills. After failing to serve her sentence of 120 hours of community service, a judge ordered her to spend three days in jail. “At first I was petrified. They even took my makeup away,” she described her brief time behind bars when she was 72 years old. Last September, new generations were introduced to Gabor when a re-enactment was featured in Netflix’s “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story.”

Still, it was her stunning nine times down the aisle that grabbed the most attention throughout her career. She said “I do” — and then, “I don’t” — to: Burhan Asaf Belge (1937-41), Conrad Hilton (April 1942-47), George Sanders (1949-54), Herbert Hutner (1962-66) Joshua S. Cosden, Jr. (1966-67), Jack Ryan (1975-76), Michael O’Hara (1976-83) and Felipe de Alba (1983-83). “I never hated a man enough to give him his diamonds back,” she said of her relationship history. Zsa Zsa remained married to her final husband, Frédéric Prinz von Anhalt, for 30 years (1986-2016) until her death.

After her passing, Prinz von Anhalt put her legacy of flamboyance and glamour up for sale. In 2017, he held an auction through Bonhams, where one of her most coveted pieces, a Harry Winston diamond rivière necklace sold for $1.3 million. It featured 45 graduated round brilliant-cut diamonds.

More of her precious baubles went up for auction the following year, in 2018, through Heritage Auctions, with 425 lots of clothes, art and jewelry. Gabor was said to be a fan of the Cartier brand, and had a penchant for anything that sparkled and shined, with gems like diamonds, rubies and sapphires that she adorned on red carpets, and even in the bathtub, too. She accessorized with both real and faux pieces, with costume jewelry also a part of her large collection.

“Demure” wasn’t in her vocabulary, but “Dah-ling” was. In fact, she was often seen wearing a bejeweled gold chainlink necklace with diamonds phonetically spelling out “darling” as “dah-ling” (a nod to her heavy Hungarian accent and go-to pet name).

Among the faux gems, one of her other beloved pieces included a choker necklace circa 1980s that featured rhinestones and faux rubies in the shape of hearts.

Zsa Zsa was often seen in a choker emblazoned with rhinestones, green glass stone and faux pearls that came with a matching three-strand faux pearl bracelet.

One of her most familiar faux looks was a rhinestone and emerald necklace that she wore on the cover of her book “How to Catch a Man; How to Keep a Man; How to Get Rid of a Man.”

See more of Zsa Zsa’s style through the years in the gallery below.